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It seems to me as though the hobby is shifting, going from the dated trains of yesteryear, and swinging into an era filled with scale locomotives, quality sound and high prices.

I would like to know a few opinions. 

Could a company, who is not interested in producing the fanciest trains on the market survive in today's market? What I mean is, assume a new company appeared, and the company's goal was to produce "Classic Model Trains". Model trains that had a "Postwar Likeness" to them; "Selectively compressed" dimensions, lacking in the sound effects department, and lacking in astounding detail. Such a business model could potentially shrink the price and fill the gap between a tight budget and the crazy high prices of today's O-Scale models. (Low prices, mind you, would attract more people to the hobby.)

 

I know K-Line was able to assert itself in the market with tooling from the Marx 333, but what if a company set out and made new tooling? 

 

Do you think such a company survive?

And if so, would you buy trains that had a postwar feel? 

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Could a company, who is not interested in producing the fanciest trains on the market survive in today's market? What I mean is, assume a new company appeared, and the company's goal was to produce "Classic Model Trains". Model trains that had a "Postwar Likeness" to them; "Selectively compressed" dimensions, lacking in the sound effects department, and lacking in astounding detail. Such a business model could potentially shrink the price and fill the gap between a tight budget and the crazy high prices of today's O-Scale models. (Low prices, mind you, would attract more people to the hobby.)

Any company producing Postwar style trains, including Lionel LLC. has to compete with the Postwar trains that are already out there, as well as all the product that was made during the Modern era up through around 1993-1994.
IMHO, that is the reason companies like Lionel have emphasized scale offerings and electronics. They have to set themselves apart from the older stuff which is plentiful, generally works well, and is less expensive.

As others have mentioned,Williams and Menards seem to be filling this niche. I highly recommend Williams to newcomers to the hobby. I'm on the fence about Menards. 

Bottom line,I don't think there's a large enough market for another player in a shrinking O gauge market. There's so much new or like new 10,20,30 even 40 year old product out there. 

Last edited by Former Member
Bobby Ogage posted:

The role model exists! If my memory serves me right, I heard Mike Wolf say that his Rail King line of trains was MTH's biggest seller. Rail King trains are generally as you describe, smaller and less expensive than scale trains.

I remember that. When Mike introduced the RK line,the offerings were like the postwar trains we remembered. I still have a few of those early RK and Premier steam locos and they still run well. Nowadays,the Railking line is a mish mash of ex-premier scale models,fantasy and "toasters" stuffed with the latest gizmos,so they are not like the original RK offerings. I know still offer some nice RK starter sets but quality seems all over the board. It appears to me that MTH is trying to be a big player in ALL the scales (RK 1 gauge,Rugged Rails,Railking,Railking Scale,Imperial,Premier,European O,S scale,HO scale,HO three rail AC for Maerklin,Lionel Tinplate and Tinplate Traditions). My observations indicate all the effort is on the HO line these days as they seem to be doing well with it. Mike's an astute businessman. It will be interesting if there will be changes to the overall MTH lines in the near future. N scale seems to really be a growing scale and I wouldn't be surprised if he makes a move to that market.

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OGR Publishing, Inc., 1310 Eastside Centre Ct, Ste 6, Mountain Home, AR 72653
800-980-OGRR (6477)
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